II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5101 

To amend the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977 with 

respect to assessments of conservation programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2024 

Mr. CASEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act 

of 1977 with respect to assessments of conservation programs, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Farmer Driven Con5 servation Outcomes Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE SOIL AND WATER RE7 SOURCES CONSERVATION ACT OF 1977. 

8 The Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 

9 1977 (16 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating sections 8 through 10 as 

2 sections 10 through 12, respectively; and 

3 (2) by inserting after section 7 the following: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 8. CONSERVATION PROGRAMS ASSESSMENT. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In coordination with the ap6 praisal of soil, water, and related resources and the soil 

7 and water conservation program, the Secretary shall carry 

8 out a conservation effects assessment project— 

9 ‘‘(1) to quantify the environmental and eco10 nomic effects of conservation practices; 

11 ‘‘(2) to develop the science base for managing 

12 the agricultural landscape for environmental quality 

13 and sustainable productive capacity; and 

14 ‘‘(3) to improve the efficacy of conservation 

15 practices and programs by evaluating conservation 

16 effects. 

17 ‘‘(b) SCOPE.—The project under this section may— 

18 ‘‘(1) be carried out at national, regional, and 

19 watershed scales; and 

20 ‘‘(2) include cropland, grazing land, wetlands, 

21 forests, and such other land as the Secretary may 

22 determine to be appropriate. 

23 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES.—The project under this section 

24 shall include research, literature reviews and bibliog25 raphies, modeling, assessment, monitoring and data collecVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Sep 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5101.IS S5101

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1 tion, outreach, extension education, and such other activi2 ties as the Secretary may determine to be appropriate. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 9. GOALS AND ASSESSMENT PROCESS FOR CON4 SERVATION PROGRAMS. 

5 ‘‘(a) NATURAL RESOURCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL

6 OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In coordination with the 

8 appraisal of soil, water, and related resources, the 

9 soil and water conservation program, and the con10 servation effects assessment project established 

11 under section 8, the Secretary shall identify, and pe12 riodically revise, specific natural resource and envi13 ronmental objectives and anticipated conservation 

14 outcomes and results, by resource concern, for— 

15 ‘‘(A) the conservation programs established 

16 under subtitle D of title XII of the Food Secu17 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.); 

18 ‘‘(B) the agricultural conservation ease19 ment program established under subtitle H of 

20 that title (16 U.S.C. 3865 et seq.); 

21 ‘‘(C) the regional conservation partnership 

22 program established under subtitle I of that 

23 title (16 U.S.C. 3871 et seq.); and 

24 ‘‘(D) the landscape conservation initiatives 

25 developed by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ASSESSMENTS.—To help measure out2 comes and results, the Secretary shall, to the max3 imum extent practicable, make assessments of 

4 changes in the status and conditions of natural re5 sources and the environment that result from the 

6 application of conservation activities supported di7 rectly by the conservation programs and initiatives 

8 described in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of para9 graph (1). 

10 ‘‘(3) MONITORING AND PROGRAM EVALUA11 TION.—The Secretary shall establish a coordinated 

12 monitoring and evaluation process for the programs 

13 and initiatives described in subparagraphs (A) 

14 through (D) of paragraph (1)— 

15 ‘‘(A) to assess progress toward the objec16 tives identified under that paragraph; 

17 ‘‘(B) to gather information to improve the 

18 implementation of those programs and initia19 tives in accordance with the outcomes and re20 sults identified under that paragraph; and 

21 ‘‘(C) to assess the need for modifications 

22 to the statutes or regulations for those pro23 grams and initiatives. 

24 ‘‘(b) MONITORING AND PROGRAM EVALUATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use not 

2 more than 1 percent of the total annual funding 

3 from the funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora4 tion made available for new annual enrollments for 

5 the conservation programs described in subpara6 graphs (A) through (C) of subsection (a)(1) to es7 tablish a comprehensive monitoring and program 

8 evaluation process to assess— 

9 ‘‘(A) progress in reaching natural resource 

10 and environmental objectives identified under 

11 that subsection; 

12 ‘‘(B) the contribution of individual pro13 grams to that progress; and 

14 ‘‘(C) the contribution of those programs 

15 collectively to that progress. 

16 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—In implementing the 

17 comprehensive monitoring and program evaluation 

18 process under paragraph (1), the Secretary may con19 sider and incorporate— 

20 ‘‘(A) resource concern inventories; 

21 ‘‘(B) trends and analyses; 

22 ‘‘(C) quality and quantity criteria; 

23 ‘‘(D) conservation practices and enhance24 ments; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) such other information as the Sec2 retary determines relevant for applying the 

3 monitoring and program evaluation process 

4 across each major land use identified by the 

5 Secretary. 

6 ‘‘(3) MONITORING AND EVALUATION PROC7 ESS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

9 after the date of enactment of the Farmer Driv10 en Conservation Outcomes Act of 2024, the 

11 Secretary shall issue— 

12 ‘‘(i) a design for the comprehensive 

13 monitoring and program evaluation process 

14 under paragraph (1); 

15 ‘‘(ii) a schedule for implementing that 

16 process; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) a plan for coordinating that 

18 process with— 

19 ‘‘(I) the soil and water conserva20 tion program; and 

21 ‘‘(II) the conservation effects as22 sessment project established under 

23 section 8. 

24 ‘‘(B) METHODOLOGY.—The design for the 

25 comprehensive monitoring and program evaluaVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Sep 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5101.IS S5101

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1 tion process described in subparagraph (A)(i) 

2 shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) ensure that data made available 

4 to cooperators and researchers from the 

5 comprehensive monitoring and program 

6 evaluation process are transformed into 

7 statistical aggregate data at the county 

8 level and in a form that protects personally 

9 identifiable information; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) take into account— 

11 ‘‘(I) the cumulative impact of 

12 conservation over time; 

13 ‘‘(II) the interactions and se14 quencing effects between conservation 

15 activities; 

16 ‘‘(III) the differing times for con17 servation effects to be realized; and 

18 ‘‘(IV) other related measurement 

19 challenges. 

20 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC RESEARCH.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

22 any other provision of law, subject to 

23 clause (ii), in order to facilitate implemen24 tation of the comprehensive monitoring 

25 and program evaluation process under 


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1 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall make 

2 available conservation activity and program 

3 data to cooperators and researchers en4 gaged in public research and evaluation ac5 tivities to improve conservation outcomes 

6 under this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(ii) CONDITIONS.—The availability of 

8 data under clause (i) shall be subject to 

9 the conditions that— 

10 ‘‘(I) adequate assurances are pro11 vided to the Secretary that any result12 ing research or information will be 

13 made publicly available in a form that 

14 protects personally identifiable infor15 mation; and 

16 ‘‘(II) the national technical com17 mittee established under paragraph 

18 (5) finds that the data is likely to 

19 generate information that furthers the 

20 purpose of this section. 

21 ‘‘(4) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Sec22 retary may implement the comprehensive monitoring 

23 and program evaluation process under paragraph (1) 

24 in part through cooperative or contribution agree25 ments with Federal, State, and local agencies, instiVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Sep 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5101.IS S5101

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1 tutions of higher education, and nongovernmental 

2 organizations with requisite expertise, as determined 

3 by the Secretary, in consultation with the national 

4 technical committee established under paragraph 

5 (5). 

6 ‘‘(5) NATIONAL TECHNICAL COMMITTEE.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The comprehensive 

8 monitoring and program evaluation process 

9 under paragraph (1) shall be administered by 

10 the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the 

11 Natural Resources Conservation Service, with 

12 assistance from a national technical committee 

13 described in subparagraph (B). 

14 ‘‘(B) COMPOSITION.—The national tech15 nical committee referred to in subparagraph (A) 

16 shall be appointed by the Secretary and com17 posed of individuals with relevant technical and 

18 scientific expertise representing— 

19 ‘‘(i) the Agricultural Research Service; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the Economic Research Service; 

21 ‘‘(iii) the Farm Service Agency; 

22 ‘‘(iv) the United States Fish and 

23 Wildlife Service; 

24 ‘‘(v) the Forest Service; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) the National Institute of Food 

2 and Agriculture; 

3 ‘‘(vii) the United States Geological 

4 Survey; 

5 ‘‘(viii) the Environmental Protection 

6 Agency; 

7 ‘‘(ix) State and Tribal agencies; 

8 ‘‘(x) land grant university natural re9 source research programs; 

10 ‘‘(xi) nongovernmental organizations 

11 with expertise in the full array of conserva12 tion issues and measurement and evalua13 tion of conservation outcomes; 

14 ‘‘(xii) farmers that reflect a variety of 

15 geographic regions, production types, racial 

16 and ethnic backgrounds, and farm acre17 ages; and 

18 ‘‘(xiii) such other agencies, institu19 tions, or organizations as the Secretary 

20 may determine to be appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(C) FACA EXEMPTION.—The national 

22 technical committee shall be exempt from the 

23 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 

24 App.). 


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1 ‘‘(D) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary 

2 shall ensure that the proceedings and rec3 ommendations of the national technical com4 mittee are available to the public. 

5 ‘‘(6) VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION.—In carrying 

6 out this subsection, the Secretary shall ensure that 

7 any on-farm monitoring activities that may be in8 cluded as part of the comprehensive monitoring and 

9 program evaluation process under paragraph (1)— 

10 ‘‘(A) are voluntary on the part of the pro11 ducer; and 

12 ‘‘(B) may include appropriate compensa13 tion for the producer, as determined by the Sec14 retary, subject to the condition that the com15 pensation, for any fiscal year, shall not exceed 

16 the lesser of— 

17 ‘‘(i) 10 percent of the net annual in18 come of the producer; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) $2,000. 

20 ‘‘(c) REPORTING.— 

21 ‘‘(1) REPORT ON OBJECTIVES AND METHODS.— 

22 Beginning in the fiscal year that is 3 years after the 

23 date of enactment of the Farmer Driven Conserva24 tion Outcomes Act of 2024, and every 2 years thereVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:24 Sep 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5101.IS S5101

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1 after, the Secretary shall submit to Congress, and 

2 make publicly available, a report that includes— 

3 ‘‘(A) a description of conservation outcome 

4 objectives that are, to the maximum extent 

5 practicable, quantitative, measurable, and time6 bound for each program or initiative described 

7 in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of subsection 

8 (a)(1); 

9 ‘‘(B) a description of the approaches, tools, 

10 and methods used— 

11 ‘‘(i) to measure or model the con12 servation outcomes and results; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) to estimate the cost-effectiveness 

14 of each of the programs or initiatives; and 

15 ‘‘(C) guidance to the conservation project 

16 partners working to implement conservation 

17 programs within a landscape-level project that 

18 provides a description of the approaches, tools, 

19 and methods that the partners might consider 

20 using to measure and model the conservation 

21 outcomes and results of the projects. 

22 ‘‘(2) REPORT ON OUTCOMES.—In conjunction 

23 with each of the reports to Congress pursuant to 

24 section 7, the Secretary shall submit to Congress, 

25 and make publicly available, a report that includes— 


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1 ‘‘(A) an assessment of progress made to2 wards achieving conservation program objec3 tives and anticipated outcomes and results for 

4 each program or initiative described in subpara5 graphs (A) through (D) of subsection (a)(1), in6 dividually and collectively; 

7 ‘‘(B) an evaluation of the cost-effectiveness 

8 of each of those conservation programs and ini9 tiatives; and 

10 ‘‘(C) recommendations, taking into consid11 eration the assessment and evaluation under 

12 subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, to im13 prove program implementation and the sci14 entific and economic tools (including any new or 

15 revised conservation practices, conservation en16 hancements, or conservation planning tools) 

17 used to achieve stated natural resource con18 servation and environmental objectives. 

19 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION.—The Secretary may co20 ordinate the reports required under paragraphs (1) 

21 and (2) with any reports developed as part of the 

22 conservation effects assessment project established 

23 under section 8 when that coordination is feasible 

24 and warranted, as determined by the Secretary.’’. 

Æ 


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